CHAPTER 382: CHAPTER 382: GENOCIDE

"What do you mean?" Olivia asked as she frowned.

Kael smiled, "The position of consort is now open to all who have the will, strength, and guts to take it.

There shall be trials and the whole competition will only last as long as I want it to. Weeks, months, years, depends.

If Wei can still fight and prove that she is useful and functional, then the position will remain hers. However, other lionesses are not inhibited from joining.

Who knows, we might see someone with a lot of potential," The king said.

Burdo’s expression waned when he heard Kael’s plan. This was not in Wei’s favor at all.

Actually, it was fair, but that was the problem. Who knew whether Wei could match up to those adults?

The only way she might stand a chance was if the trials took years and stalled long enough for Wei to get stronger and more mature.

"But, You’re Majesty, you were already betrothed to her. Is there any need or reason for this?" Burdo asked.

Wei was his status symbol. He wanted her to become the consort so that his own lion prince position could be secured. He would be stupid if he thought that Kael wouldn’t remove him if he ever did something wrong.

If Wei were his consort, she could plead on his behalf and allow him to maintain his position much longer.

"You question my needs?" Kael asked as he tilted his head in a dangerously predatory manner.

Burdo flinched and didn’t dare to offer a reply.

"I am simply...adapting," Kael stated, "Those who fail to adapt will die,"

Kael’s words were vague as he walked away.

Priya and the other lionesses looked on with confusion. Especially Priya, she had wanted to take defense for Wei and try to reason with Kael.

After all, it seemed absurd that Kael would all of a sudden revoke Wei of her status just because she failed to pass Katari’s training.

But when she thought about the so-called competition Kael had spoken of, she realized that Kael might be playing a bigger game here.

The results would only be seen as time passes.

She looked at Wei who just stood there, stunned.

The reality of what just happened will settle within her later.

"If you work hard, no one can take the title away from you," Priya consoled.

If anything, Kael had proved just how unpredictable he was. Nothing was set in stone when it came to him.

Meanwhile,

"Wait, so we’ve already reported right?" Ozia asked as he saw his father walking away.

He had expected some scolding, not what had just happened.

"Yes, you all will go and meet Katari after the meeting," Priya said as she released Silas’s hand and followed after Kael.

"Burdo," Nalii called.

Burdo stood up, his expression fell.

"If you still want Wei to be the future consort, then prepare her," Nalii said.

"I’ve been preparing her already," Burdo defended.

"Then don’t stop, Kael probably just wants someone who is exceptional and doesn’t want to settle for mediocrity.

That’s how I see it," Nalii said.

#####

The meeting hall had almost been fully constructed.

Dust and stones flew through the air as rock slabs and wooden logs assembled themselves in different locations.

Kael continued walking into the commotion as the massive structure was being constructed rapidly.

Different creatures flew around him, Fire and rocks traveled around him, but none touched his body.

As Kael walked into the barely finished hall, multiple creatures began rushing in after him.

The hall was big and the ceiling was high. This place could house thousands of creatures on the floor alone. The walls of this building had pocket balconies, meant for the caste leaders and their members.

The case leaders all found their rightful spots and sat down as they watched the king walk over to his designated position.

A simple stone throne was kept at the end of the hall, simply for Kael.

By the time he reached the throne, the construction of the building had already finished with the remaining creatures rushing inside through the entrance.

Kael turned around. His eyes scanned the newly constructed hall that was nearly two hundred meters in length.

At this time, Priya walked into the hall.

Seeing Priya, Kael finally took his seat on the throne.

"Let the meeting begin," Kael announced.

This was THE meeting. A meeting that would decide whether Kael would commit genocide or not.

The meeting began with a few pleasantries and greetings. All the caste leaders called out their names to show that they were present for this meeting one by one.

"Concerning the elephants," Kael stated, "Marcus, please, state the case."

Marcus flew down from his balcony with a cloud of dark mist left behind.

"Your Majesty, thank you.

Our kingdom has been on a campaign, a mission to take control of the world. We have everything to achieve that goal.

We have the shuttles, the arkship, and powerful individuals.

However, we also have troublemakers, rebels, and elephants.

They have proven time and time again that breaking rules is something natural to them. Even though we don’t seek to harm them, they have repeatedly harmed us.

Many caste leaders have reported the elephants trying to poach their members to join a rebellion faction.

I’m afraid that if not for sub-castes like enforcers and scouts, we might have had a bigger problem on our hands.

Not only are the elephants adept at disrupting order, they are also quite powerful. The average awakened elephant is equivalent to a tier 4 being.

Although this comes with the trade-offs like low reproduction rate and long lifespans, it has become less of a problem for them.

With the amount of Origin Essence on the planet, elephants no longer have that much of a problem when it comes to evolution.

And this is one of the biggest reasons why they have been allowed wanton freedom to cause trouble.

We estimate that there are currently more than one thousand awakened elephants across the world, including those in captivity.

That is equivalent to one thousand plus beings equivalent to a tier 4 wolf.

We also don’t know how many elephants with higher power levels exist, that is, those equivalent to tier 5.

That would make the elephant caste, if it ever exists, the strongest caste in the world.

This is a significant force that would pain not just the elephants, but also us too, if we decide to eliminate them.

And even if we do, they wouldn’t go down without a fight.

So, the question is, what do we do with them?

Please, all should be reminded that the king possesses the ability to wipe off every elephant on this planet. It is no challenge to His Majesty.

This isn’t an issue of strength, it’s an issue of efficiency.

As we have talked about in previous meetings.

Some have proposed genocide as letting the elephants live longer could cause further troubles in the future.

Some have reasoned that there must be a common ground to be achieved with the elephants.

Perhaps, a negotiation.

A solution has been put forth. Since it has become common knowledge that the elephants are affiliated with the law of Rules, and are thereby inclined to be influenced by it on a global scale.

The solution is to let the elephants take control of the creation of rules for the whole kingdom, therefore encouraging the elephants to join.

...

"

Kael listened on. This was all just for formality as it was being recorded into an info orb by Natalia, the spider caste leader.

But Marcus’s statistics were a bit off.

He said there were more than one thousand elephants, when there were actually more than two thousand awakened elephants.

That was like two thousand city-leveling bombs, sitting around in Eridoria, waiting to explode.

Kael knew this because a lot of those elephants still had their identity marks in his vassal Record.

Indeed, if they had joined the kingdom as a caste, they would be one of the strongest, if not the strongest.

The average power level was tier 3, that didn’t mean it would suddenly become easier to evolve to tier 4 just because there was excess Origin Essence.

Not all creatures were as talented and disciplined as lions like Kael and his consorts.

Ninety-nine percent of them still needed a few more years before they could reach the next level.

The wolf caste, for example, had more than three million members but less than one thousand of them had made it to the tier 4 stage in the past two years.

Coincidentally, a lot of the creatures who were currently at tier 4 power level had partaken in that Bloody Feast.

Even Commander Bibi was still at tier 4.

The lion royalties were a bit better. Out of their one million-plus lion population, about two thousand of them had become tier 4 lions.

This also includes Kael’s consorts, except N’bayé...

Usually, less than one percent of any race would make it to the next stage.

But the elephants were not that many to begin with, just over a hundred thousand globally.

Wiping out the elephants with their strength and numbers would indeed be a waste on both sides.

Marcus continued, "... And after careful review, we have assessed the risk, the motives of the rebels, their usefulness, and other important factors.

From the previous vote we had from the last meeting, eighty percent of case leaders voted in favor of the extinction of the elephants."